Category Lesson Notes
Big Lesson
I didn’t have a lesson the week of Christmas, but this week’s made up for it. In addition to Michael being home and finally getting to meet my teacher, it was my first lesson playing with my new violin. Teacher also tested it again, and it’s sounding great; I couldn’t be happier. As I mentioned […]
Assessment and Progress
I showed my new violin to Teacher at my lesson yesterday. She played it for me (I have no ability to test an instrument), and it sounded great. The 87 year old violin has a couple of things that need repaired, in addition to having the bow re-haired. I’m also contemplating replacing the very old […]
Foundations
I feel very fortunate to have had three years or so of music before the “critical period” of my brain’s development. I know that most adult beginners struggle quite a bit more than I am struggling, and the only reason in the world for that is my earlier start, though I have almost no active […]
On Leveling up and Fingers
The last lesson was a whirlwind – our typical pattern is I play all my old material, from Twinkle Twinkle through my newest song, and Teacher corrects me on finer points as we go along. The finest of the finer points is often my bow hold. That still holds, but last week as I played, […]
Rhody the Right Way
Earlier in the month I wrote a post about re-discovering an old song from my first go-round with the violin back in elementary school – Go Tell Aunt Rhody. In my lesson earlier this week, Teacher introduced me to a new song – Go Tell Aunt Rhody! Of course I had some of the details […]
Riding the Kreisler Highway
My quest for proper violin hold, bow hold, finger and arm positioning, and bow placement on the strings continues. Weekly, Teacher makes minor corrections to my configuration, and, weekly, I’m able to absorb ever so slightly more detail about doing it all correctly. Yesterday, I was tickled when she made me aware of a new […]
Lesson 2: Strawberries in A Major
Yesterday I learned that A Major, marked by three sharps, is the key in which I’ve been playing my Twinkle variations. I think I’m going to enjoy Teacher’s method of imparting Music Proper. It seems I’ll be playing something by ear, a la Suzuki, and Teacher will share a bit of formal musical knowledge along […]
“It Depends on How Much You Practice”
The first lesson was great – I met my teacher, and she is enthusiastic, professional, and supportive. She suggested an electronic tuner, a device that didn’t exist when I learned how to tune the violin the first time around. I’m currently using a sponge for a chin rest – I bought it at the violin […]
Ryan Libel 